


homesick in my hometown

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Akaashi Keiji-centric, Akaashi is Whipped, BokuAka Day, Bokuaka - Freeform, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Slow Dancing, Wedding Fluff, the slightest amount of crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:01:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23500501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "He forgets it all, so lost in the familiarity that Bokuto brings to him. It makes him feel like he had been homesick in his own hometown for the past year and a half-- becausethiswas home. He was home. And as corny as it was, Akaashi found himself believing it wholeheartedly."Alternatively, Akaashi coming to the realization that letting people go isn't always the best way to deal with the fact that you're in love with them.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 4
Kudos: 90





	homesick in my hometown

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by this [ song. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALxqO4u0R98)

It's funny, how when a certain person comes into Akaashi's life, things change so quickly.

At first, the shift isn't even noticeable. But it's there, and Akaashi had witnessed it for himself on multiple occasions. The air is somehow warmer, feeling refreshing against sweaty skin during practices. Stars seem to twinkle a little bit brighter underneath pale moonlight. His coffee tastes more bitter then usual, but for some reason, the man enjoys it.

He had gotten used to how everything was always brighter, more vibrant-- around Bokuto, that was.

However, as Akaashi sat in the booth across from his older sister in a rather empty Denny's, it was so easy to differentiate the contrast between then and now. It had been around a year and a half since Bokuto went off on his own two-year long abroad trip in Europe. When Akaashi asked him why, all that time ago, the answer was straight-forward. Like most things with the owlish looking man.

"I want to see what the world has to offer!"

He was an enigma, truly. Someone that could manage to make Akaashi feel like the universe was aligning perfectly every single time that they spoke. Things used to always feel right, around him. When he left, the setter was somewhat lost at first. Life had faded into a blackhole of obscurity and waiting, like a lost puppy, for him to come back. He almost felt embarrassed, looking back at himself after they both graduated. Bokuto had been moving forward, yet there Akaashi was, stuck in the same place. Eventually, he picked himself up and dusted the pieces of a broken heart off, but there was still that moment of vulnerability that he hated remembering. Slowly, his knuckles grasped onto the glass of coffee with a lazy squeeze. Bokuto was probably doing fine. Europe was perfect for such a spontaneous, happy man. It made him feel like--

"Did you hear anything I just said?" Yui, his older sister, knocks on the side of his head as though there was nothing inside.

Akaashi could've sworn his eyes rolled so far back that he could see his brain. Only she could annoy him like this. A tiny laugh of amusement bubbles up in her chest as she sips on her tea. He frowns.

"Yeah, yeah. Wedding, November 17th. I need to bring a plus-one. Literally all of what you told me was on the card." The sound of annoyingly repetitive pop music plays over the speakers as Akaashi explains himself, azure eyes averting towards the gold ring on Yui's delicate hand. Small hands seemed to run in the family, he supposed.

"So, you can hear me after all!" She pauses, taking a spoon-full of Tiramisu into her mouth with no concern for the impatience written blatantly on Akaashi's face. There's a moment of silence between them as she chews, the younger brother crossing his arms and sighing.

"Anyways." She wipes the corners of her mouth before continuing. "I'm well aware of that, Aka. The real reason I'm even here is just to make sure you actually bring someone with you."

His face contorts into one of both surprise and slight offense, eyebrows raising.

"What? Can you blame me? I'm pretty sure the only people you text anymore are mom, your landlord, and your professors' occasionally." Yui stared right back with no fear into his defensive, narrowed eyes. Akaashi bit his lip, faltering. She had a point.

"Look, I'll figure it out. It's not that serious." He dismisses her, unfurling his crossed arms.

"Okay, look. This might be a long-shot, but... what about Bokuto? I heard that he might be around during our wedding, but I'm not sure. Plus, you had that huge crush on him--"

"Sh, sh, sh!" Akaashi frowned, waving his arms over her mouth with clear embarrassment.

To say that it was a crush would've been an understatement. She knew it just as well as Akaashi did, but never said so only out of what he assumed to be pity. Anyone who knew him well enough would take pity on the man, just like she did. Years of pining after the same loud, rambunctious ace all for nothing. And the worst part of it all was that he knew there was something there between them at some point. Denying it would have been stupid. The amount of times his teammates have caught them staring at each others' backs were mortifying, and Konoha had drunkenly told him so one night a few months ago. It was like the final nail on the casket.

If Akaashi had to put a definitive word towards what he felt around Bokuto, it would be regret.

Sure, they texted quite often. Called sometimes, even. But it just seemed to lack that oomph that their old conversations had, before he moved. It had been like the fire died out beneath Bokuto abruptly, nothing but idle questions being tossed back and forth between them. Most pauses between replies were covered up by dumb iMessage games. He despised everything about it, right down to the way that they said 'good morning' and 'good night' to one another.

"No." He says, more to himself then to her. "No way in hell." She frowns, glaring at Akaashi with an unreadable expression. He scrunches his nose up, trying to find the intent beneath her narrowed eyes.

"Listen. I know that things between him and you aren't exactly the best. You told me so many times. I still remember how you locked yourself in your bedroom for days after he left out of nowhere. Maybe even weeks. All I'm going to say is that this is the best chance to get him back here, right where he should be."

Where he should be...

Akaashi didn't know how to feel about Yui's sentences. They made his stomach hurt in an uncomfortable way, like he was going to be sick. There was no way that Akaashi could ever make Bokuto stay in Tokyo for his own selfish feelings and reasonings, as much as he yearned for it occasionally.

"Even if I want him to come, rhetorically, the chances that he'll return are small." He reasons, shaking his head gently. She grimaces, tapping her fingers against the ceramic rim of the plate.

"Look, just try. Please? For me?" She reaches over the top of the table and gives him an affirmative squeeze on the arm. It deepens the creases in his forehead, expression still sour with anxiety. She notices it and sighs, hand dropping. The ring slid down her finger slightly, losing its former placement.

"For him?"

November 17th.

it might've been the one day in the whole year that Akaashi simultaneously hated and loved.

The text that he delivered to Bokuto (or rather Yui sent, since he was too nervous to hit send) was replied to after about thirteen hours. Yes, he counted. It was hard to even fathom the idea that Akaashi might've been able to see his face again. His palms were sweaty while even pondering about such an unearthly thing. Seeing him again might kill Akaashi. The second that his phone vibrated on the nightstand, he dove after it like he was trying to frantically receive a volleyball, arms clasping onto the phone with vigor.

bokuto: 'oh shoot, seriously?! thats a huge coincidence. im gonna be there for my dad's bday within the same week. i havent seen u in a while ;P'

Bokuto and his little emoticons. Always winking. They were enough to send Akaashi into orbit, eyes glittering with embers of admiration that were still there after all the time of being apart and fading from Bokuto. Time couldn't change how he perceived the former ace in the slightest. He was still the same optimistic enigma of a person that the man used to acknowledge with regards higher then anything imaginable. Akaashi used to be whipped for him, plain and simple. Before he can even process what to say to Bokuto, slender fingers are already scrolling down towards his older sister's contact.

akaashi: 'he said yes... im-'

yui: 'I KNEW HE WOULD! >:O'

Thus, four more months of waiting ensued. Akaashi was sure that this would either go way too well, or that he'd end up in the same lonely spot he was in only a year and a half ago.

Akaashi orders a black coffee on the morning of the wedding, staring at the steam floating off into the sky with an expectant stare. Slowly, he lifts it to his lips and takes a long sip.

It tastes familiar. Like something of another time that he shouldn't have been able to experience again. The coffee tastes like... it's more bitter then usual.

He feels absolutely crazy for the way that his lip quivers, hands shaking gently.

It was official, Akaashi Keiji was going crazy.

As his sister walks down the aisle, dress flowing behind her in a trail of endless fabric, Akaashi swore that he was going insane.

As Yui and her wife, Saeko, exchanged vows, Akaashi swore that he was losing his mind.

With a shaky breath, he clings onto the edges of the white chair for dear life. Bokuto was about six rows behind him, and the color of his eyes were driving Akaashi mad. He finds himself glancing back only once, as the rings are being exchanged between the wives, and keeps himself from letting out a weird noise of surprise at the fact that Bokuto is staring right back at him with a relatively enthusiastic expression.

It's him who looks away first, eyes darting towards the crimson carpets immediately. Oh god, oh god. His hair was slicked back so nicely, and the colors of his suit complimented his yellow-ish eyes as well. Akaashi swears internally that whoever styled Bokuto will be personally bowed down to, one day. Looking that nice at someone else's wedding should have been illegal, in all honesty. The old feelings, dug deep beneath the prior months of not seeing one another-- they're returning with explosive waves, stomach churning uncomfortably as the raven fiddles with his fingers and sighs. This wasn't high-school anymore, this was different. He needed to stop acting like he was fifteen all over again, young and inexplicably stupid.

One more time, manages to get himself to look up. And Bokuto is still there, stare moving from the decor along the arch above Yui towards him again. Their eyes meet slowly, and a singular charge of electricity shoots straight up Akaashi's spine. This time it's Bokuto who looks away first, the edges of his lips twitching upwards in what seemed to be amusement.

May God help Akaashi, because that smile was going to kill him tonight.

When Bokuto finds him for the first time after the concession, it reminds him a lot of the last time they'd practiced before Bokuto left for Europe.

Akaashi had been smoking a cigarette, on a terrace away from the after-party, when glimpses of white hair alarmed him that someone else was there.

A moment of silence ensues, like their prior practice, Akaashi silently crushing the end of his cigarette into an ash-tray. His legs feel heavy, like someone had attached anvils to his feet.

"Before you say anything, I only smoke when I'm stressed." He pointedly excuses himself, eyes not moving from the splayed ashes on the surface before them.

Bokuto snickers, and he doesn't have to glance over to know that the humorous man is tilting his head back while he laughs. Small things like that about him tended to stick in Akaashi's mind.

"Hey, I'm not judging! Don't assume!" Bokuto raises his arms over his head, a tiny grin apparent. An eyebrow of suspicion is raised in his direction, amusement finding its way towards Akaashi. He takes a moment to continue to stare, as if pretending to be a human lie-detector, and catches Bokuto scanning him head to toe for only a moment. It's enough to make him avert his gaze, cheeks reddening.

"How come you're out here, anyways? I'd assume that a person who invites their former-teammate to a wedding should accompany them. Might just be me, though!" Bokuto hums softly, grin shifting into something resembling a lazy little smirk. He clicks his tongue in feigned irritancy, but there isn't any heat behind the action.

Something about the way that he refers to Akaashi as only a former-teammate hurts, but he doesn't mind. Because hearing 'former-friend' probably would have hurt more-- it would have killed the flicker of hope forming in Akaashi's chest.

"Sure, Bokuto-san. And if said person were to accompany their former-teammate, how do you suppose they'd do so?" Akaashi inquires with a quizzical tone of voice, arms folding themselves over the metal railing. Something about their conversation felt so... natural, so much so that he finds himself forgetting about the previous staring competition, and the weirdly-toned text conversations for such a long time, and the bob of Bokuto's Adam apple as he snorts at Akaashi.

He forgets it all, so lost in the familiarity that Bokuto brings to him. It makes him feel like he had been homesick in his own hometown for the past year and a half-- because this was home. He was home. And as corny as it was, Akaashi found himself believing it wholeheartedly. 

The past years with Bokuto come back to him with a second's notice, memories contorting into something that was almost suffocating him with nostalgia. Akaashi couldn't hear what Bokuto was saying over the sound of his ears ringing, blinking rapidly to ensure that tears wouldn't spill out and embarrass him. To think that the last year was spent without Bokuto was mind boggling.

"Akaashi?" His voice was much closer then it had been before, Bokuto's voice right next to his ear. He jolts slightly.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking. Do... do you remember that time that you got stuck in our volleyball net?" He asks without thinking, eyes looking up towards Bokuto. Their faces are too close, and Akaashi realizes it too late, the two of them backing up immediately. For only a second, Bokuto's eyes wander downwards. His voice hitches in his throat, verging on a stifled gasp.

The white strands on the end of Bokuto's head tangle slightly when the breeze picks up, unraveling despite how they seemed to be so nicely combed earlier. The man notices the stray hairs and curses quietly, hands going through his scalp. As he brushes through his head of hair, Akaashi observes how his expression morphs into an exuberant one.

"Oh my God, yeah! I remember that!" Bokuto laughs loudly, hiding his face with his hands. Akaashi is sure that his cheeks are ablaze. "That was so mortifying. We were only first-years, and all of the third-years were watching..." His sentence turns into a whine of sheepish embarrassment towards the end. It's oddly endearing to Akaashi, a tiny smile forming.

"It wasn't that bad. I have to admit though, watching you struggle was the funniest part. No one was helping you, either." Akaashi ponders over the situation with a smile that grows as Bokuto shushes him, removing his hands to reveal red cheeks. As if the tip of his ears being aflame wasn't revealing enough. The attempt was cute. It made him chuckle, breaking off into a laugh.

"Nope, nope, nope! Never happened, nuh-uh!" He shook his head with a pout resembling a child's, and it only made the mirth in Akaashi's expression more obvious. Bokuto ignores it, huffing through his nose quietly. "Anyways! Before you decided to so abruptly bully me, I was going to offer that you'd dance with your former-teammate."

Akaashi blinks up at Bokuto once, twice, three times. Slowly, he frowns.

"What?" Bokuto asks, his head rotating slightly in confusion. The image of an owl tilting its neck sideways is envisoned in Akaashi's mind for a mere moment.

"I don't particularly like dancing, Bokuto-san." He admits, clasping his hands together. Dancing has never been his thing, and never will be.

"Really? But you were so graceful on the court!" Bokuto exclaimed, putting a hand over his mouth momentarily. "Although that has nothing to do with this."

Akaashi's head swiveled back in surprise. Unrelated, but still good to know. Maybe they'd play together again one day.

"Come on, just trust me. I don't care if you have two left feet, because as far as I'm concerned, they're still feet to me." He implores, honeyed yellow eyes looking down at him with hope that Akaashi just couldn't refute. The simplicity of his words are almost dumbfounding in a sweet way, and it makes him feel okay with the fact that Bokuto would be his dance partner.

"...Fine. But don't be surprised if I step on your feet." He clarifies, crossing both arms with a hesitant demeanor. Bokuto is still happy regardless, and beams the same grin as he pushes Akaashi back into the ballroom gently. The door allows a final breeze make its way in before shutting behind them.

"You won't regret this!" Bokuto declares.

Akaashi does, in fact, regret his decision.

Although the reasons for regretting it aren't exactly the... worst.

It's the feeling of warm, comforting arms against his waist that are making him re-evaluate whether his existence is some kind of ongoing joke. Perhaps someone is watching him dance with the person he's been in love with for about four years and ten months and is simply laughing, deviously rubbing their hands together with exasperation. There's truly no other way that Akaashi can explain the feeling of his regret, even though the copious emotions are resulting in butterflies unlike ever before.

"Kind of boring, isn't it?" Bokuto asked, snapping Akaashi out of his prolonged glare towards the chandelier. All he can really do is hum, arms wrapped around the back of the man's neck.

"Agreed." He pursed his lips together into a thin line, bodies swaying to the slow music with no particular urgency. It almost would've been calming, if not for the sound of his heart trying to rip its way out of his chest. "How come you're so good with this?" The raven inquired, azure eyes gesturing towards them dancing.

Bokuto stifles a snort into his shoulder, shaking his head. Akaashi tilts his head.

"I mean, this isn't that hard. After all, you haven't stepped on me yet." A sense of playfulness whirls across Bokuto's wiggling eyebrows, and Akaashi has to turn away so he doesn't chuckle in Bokuto's face.

"I can make it harder for you, if that's what you're implying. Let's see how good of a dancer you are, hm?" Akaashi challenges the man, arching an eyebrow. In a split-second, Bokuto is nodding in agreement. Their competitive streaks were definitely showing now, evident in how eager Akaashi was to make Bokuto stumble.

Quickly, they move so that their feet are practically touching while a turn is made. Bokuto manages to stay consistent with his movements, and Akaashi trails behind slightly but is still doing fine thus far. Soon enough they're only inches away from each other, simply staring with smiles that said it all. Ruthless, there's an edge to Bokuto's smile that has him on the edge of his seat.

As though it's something pre-meditated, he leans in and plants a soft kiss to Akaashi's lips. His eyes widen, and before he can react, it's over. The sensation of Bokuto's lips are still there even after the owlish man has backed away, his feet stumbling over one another.

"I won!" Is what comes out of Bokuto's mouth, and Akaashi has never been so happy to lose in his life.

**Author's Note:**

> heyo! its bokuaka day, and i just love them so damn much that i managed to get off my ass and make another work. as much as i wanted to really delve into this and add more though, my brain is tired dkjfjdjf 
> 
> follow me on [ twitter!](https://twitter.com/iiruwu)


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